1. vi. To go through multiple
levels of indirection, as in traversing a linked list or graph structure.
Used esp. by programmers in C, where explicit pointers are a very common
data type. This is techspeak, but it remains jargon when used of human
networks. “I'm chasing pointers. Bob said you could tell me who to
talk to about....” See
dangling pointer and snap.

2. [Cambridge] pointer chase
or pointer hunt: The process of going
through a core dump (sense 1), interactively or on a
large piece of paper printed with hex runes,
following dynamic data-structures. Used only in a debugging
context.